Nikolai Kalinin
"Ve arrre going to have to shoot glass! Arrrrghh!" - Kalinin as he tries to rescue his friends from a sinking car during the East Asian Hostage Crisis. Nikolai Kalinin 'is a Spetsnaz operative and a major character in the TACITUS saga. He served in the Russian Spetsnaz, joining fresh out of high school, considered to be the best soldier in the unit, before a family tragedy led him to transfer to a Russian Special Ops unit embedded within the Spetsnaz, known as Kasatka (Russian for Killer Whale). Biography Early life and military career Not much is known about Nikolai's past, but it is known that he enlisted in the Russian military after graduating college at Saint Petersburg State University. In the Spetsnaz ''Main article: ''Saint Petersburg Seven As a Spetsnaz operative, Nikolai was very efficient and very resilient when it came to combat. He was described as a man who could "kill without second thoughts." He was also very loyal to his comrades, which earned him some close friends in the Spetsnaz Unit. While in the Spetsnaz, Nikolai and a few of his colleagues formed the Saint Petersburg Seven (named after hte fact that Nikolai himself was among six other people who were from St. Petersburg). As the Saint Petersburg Seven, Nikolai and his buddies fought tooth and nail against the Chechens during the Second Chechen War. Under Nikolai Kalinin's lead, the unit was able to inflict numerous casualties against the Chechens. However, disaster struck one day when a stray mortar from the Islamic State in the Caucasus Emirate killed multiple people at Nikolai's forward operating base in the Caucasus. Nikolai and the rest of the St. Petersburg Seven escaped with their lives, but his girlfriend and younger brother were killed, leaving Nikolai grief-stricken, angry, and obssessed with vengeance. His friends in the unit also desired payback, but feared that Nikolai's obsession would put himself, as well as other people, in danger. Sometime after his girlfriend and brother's death, Nikolai's commanding officer Konstantin Petrov decided to give him a chance at inflicting his vengeance upon the Islamic State. Six months later, Nikolai transferred to a top secret special operations unit within the Russian SVR, known as Kasatka. Kasatka In Kasatka, under the careful guidance of friend and mentor Konstantin Petrov, Nikolai quickly grew to be a ruthless killing machine. Powered by rage and hatred, Nikolai had eventually become the ultimate weapon against the Islamic State. In the Islamic State's eyes, he was seen as a "scourge", a serious threat that had to be eliminated. However, at the same time the Islamic State feared him. The Islamic State had put a bounty on his head, but since he was so good at evading his enemies, no one was able to claim that bounty. At one point during his career in Kasatka, Nikolai met a girl named Amina Kazi, known among her friends as the Angel of Death because she, like Nikolai, was remarkably efficient in fighting against the Islamic State. However, he was suddenly transferred to the Caucasus Region in Russia before he could spend more time with her. In the Caucasus Region of Russia, Nikolai met a young woman only known by her codename, Frostbite. They worked together at random times during missions and Nikolai describes their history as a "rocky friendship." At first, the two hated each other because of their unorthodox methods. However, she was soon able to get used to Nikolai's unorthodox fighting style. At one point, Nikolai learned that his old friend Amina was kidnapped by the Islamic State and was being held captive in the Caucasus. Nikolai surprised the Islamic State by massacring his way through the Islamic State troops, successfully rescuing Amina in the process. During the mission, Roman Petrovitch Orlov, a traitor within the ranks of Kasatka, secretly ratted Nikolai and his men out ot Islamic State forces in the area. When Nikolai found out, he simply executed Roman and then had the Russian government pin the blame on Islamic State militants. Soon after this incident, Nikolai left Kasatka and continued an education majoring in Communications at the St. Louis University of Missouri, maintaining a day job as a staff writer at the student-run newspaper, the Riverside Gazette. Task Force Reaper By 2015, Nikolai Kalinin found himself in Task Force Reaper, a vigilante private military contractor that hired him because of his experience as a former Spetsnaz operative, in addition to experience as a Task Force Kasatka commando. Kalinin eventually became one of the most feared members of Task Force Reaper, second only to field commander Vinnie Crosby. As of 2018, being a staff writer at the Riverside Gazette is his day job, while being a PMC for the Reapers is his night job. Becoming a supersoldier In early 2016, it was revealed that Nikolai had been one of many people handpicked to become lab rats in a supersoldier program, one that involved a supersoldier serum that granted him superhuman levels of stamina and strength, as well as skin that would harden against bullets or other lethal objects. These new powers from the serum essentially turned him into an unstoppable fighting machine, though the powers and abilities only activated when Nikolai either felt extreme emotional pressure, or felt threatened. The first time this power was used was during a confrontation between Nikolai Kalinin and a trio of thugs that had abducted a young woman. In the ensuing fistfight, Nikolai called the kidnappers out on their "recklessness". Feeling insulted, one of the gangsters pulled out a gun and fired three shots towards Nikolai's heart, which would have killed him instantly if it weren't for the serum making his skin bulletproof. Unbeknownst to the thugs, Nikolai wasn't killed, but was only knocked down by the force of the bullets hitting the hardened skin. He then surprised the thugs by casually getting back up. When the lone survivor questioned whether the armor was real, Nikolai just coolly replied that it indeed was, before eliminating him. Life: A Compilation In Life: A Compilation, Nikolai is seen multiple times, giving his view on life and narrating about his personal adventures during his current life as a Task Force Reaper operative. Nashville Incident Nikolai Kalinin finds himself in Nashville, Tennessee, where he gets involved with investigating a mysterious thumb drive that is later revealed to contain a cyber-weapon capable of hijacking and remotely controlling the American drone fleet, which was apparently built by China. Skills and personality Nikolai was a nice and caring person in his youth, but after his personal tragedy while serving in the Russian military, Nikolai became a cold and violent man who wanted nothing more than to exact what he saw as "righteous vengeance" against the people who have hurt him. He particularly has a strong hatred for Islamic extremism (Thanks to the atrocities of the Islamic State of New Palestine), holds a rather mistrusting view towards Muslims, and has a strong hatred of white supremacist groups. He also seems to be a rather sadistic person, having been known to partake in brutal executions almost with a sense of twisted happiness. He seems to enjoy watching his enemies suffer. One notable example is an incident in the past where he gleefully tortured a serial killer to death after witnessing him strangling a young woman to the point where she passed out. As a Spetsnaz operative, Nikolai possesses excellent firearms handling skills and tactical driving skills, fond of using vehicles as offensive weapons if necessary. He also has a solid aim when shooting and almost never misses whenever he shoots at a target. Nikolai is also trained in Systema Spetsnaz, the official martial arts of the Russian Army. However, he is also trained in mixed martial arts (MMA) and Keysi Fighting Method (KFM), both of which he became skilled in during his teen years. He is also very aggressive in combat, possessing a level of savagery that most people are unaware of. This makes him a formidable opponent, as well as a feared fighter among enemy organizations. He was also considered a rather sadistic man when it comes to interrogating prisoners and/or criminals, preferring to torture the information out of them rather than asking them nicely. Whenever he was confronted about this, Kalinin justifies his actions by claiming that "one can never get a man to crack, unless you crack them first." Once he becomes a supersoldier, Nikolai is soon revealed to posess an emotional "berserk button", a trait commonly displayed when he is threatened or challenged firsthand. He possesses a near-superhuman level of upper body strength and stamina. However, his powers are activated only in times of stress and/or anger, or when Nikolai is personally threatened. A notable example was during the Nashville Incident. When MSS agent Gang Han began to brag about his perceived invincibility, he sent Nikolai into a fury, which culmilated when Gang Han had the audacity to challenge Nikolai to kill him lest he be gunned down by Han himself. Han made the fatal mistake of calling Nikolai "impotent", which caused Kalinin to snap, activating his superhuman strength in the process, and kill him by tearing his heart right out of his chest with his bare hands, right in front of Han's colleagues. Despite this, he was also a very loyal person, a man willing to die for his comrades. He saw the people in his military unit as a form of "extended family", which led to him becoming a well-known and well-respected individual. Habits and beliefs Nikolai had an interest in folk songs as a child and adolescent, but as he grew older he began to grow fond of death metal, thrash metal, and heavy metal, music that he admired because it sounded "angry" and matched the dark and hateful philosophy he had towards certain people. Nikolai is also a self-proclaimed atheist/agnostic, though he is open to hearing about other people's beliefs. However, he does believe that people of faith and, to a certain extent, faith itself, are hypocritical. He often accuses people of using the holy books of various different religions to justify absolute certainty that their interpretation of their faith/religion's fundamental teachings are correct, when in fact they could be wrong. He is similar to Diane Mack in that he treats all faiths with a grain of salt. Nikolai also has an interesting view on faith. In his mind, faith and having confidence contradict each other. Nikolai agrees with the Biblical definition of faith (Hebrews 11:1), but he believes the Bible seems to indicate that faith is trust despite ''any ''form of confidence or assurance from anybody, and that one can (and should) maintain trust in any sort of God, despite the absence of assurance. Henceforth, when this logic is applied to the question of salvation, when people say they can know for sure if they will go to Heaven when they die based on the works of Jesus and His righteousness (John 3:16, John 14:6, Ephesians 2:8-9), Nikolai maintains that such a claim actually shows a ''lack ''of faith, since humans do not have the moral authority to "know for sure" if their salvation is real, and to have such assurance in the words of Jesus Christ actually defeats the purpose of having faith in the first place. Nikolai sums it up in the following way: "Faith is just blind trust. Anything more would be borderline pride." Another big criticism Kalinin frequently brings up in conversations with Christians is the apparent hypocrisy behind the Gospel itself. Kalinin's position here is that even if God's law does maintain that sinners will die an eternal death, the idea that God would send His only begotten Son to die and rise again three days later to take the place of humanity sounds more like an obstruction and/or contradictiion of justice, rather than an act of love. Specifically, he maintains that the cross was actually God the Father attempting to break His own law, and then using the intent behind the action to rationalize said self-contradictory action. Kalinin also believes that since God is omnipotent, He could have changed the laws, or made them differently in the first place, so as to avoid such a contradiction. Nikolai also seems to believe that the Bible is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to getting to know Jesus, or know God personally, and that the Bible isn't enough to really know God. In fact, he claims that God is "unknowable" due to the fact that the information the Bible does give concerning God is only a small percentage of knowledge concerning God and is "never enough" to truly know Him. Gallery Nikolai Kalinin in Spetsnaz.jpg|Nikolai Kalinin during his time in the Spetsnaz Tactical AKM.jpg|An AKM with Tactical Furniture, one of Nikolai's signature weapons Kiparis.png|The Kiparis, another one of Nikolai's signature weapons SV-98.png|The Izhmash SV-98, a Russian sniper rifle that Nikolai is fond of AAC Integrally Suppressed R700.png|AAC Integrally Suppressed R700, another sniper rifle Nikolai Kalinin is fond of Tomahawk.png|A tomahawk, one of Nikolai's most favored melee weapons Bf4 mp443 grach.png|MP-443 Grach, Nikolai's signature handgun Nikolai Kalinin in 2018.png|Nikolai Kalinin during his time in Kasatka Nikolai Kalinin, aged 42.png|Nikolai Kalinin, aged 42 Nikolai Kalinin.png|Nikolai Kalinin as a Spetsnaz shapshooter Trivia *It is later revealed that Nikolai was a sharpshooter during his first four years in the Russian Army, and he was quite good at it too. *He is seen as a brutal and merciless person when fighting or hunting down criminals, a result of his PTSD from losing loved ones during the war on the Islamic State, in addition to his time in Kasatka. *When first introduced, he is speaks a heavily accented, broken English. However, as the series progresses, Kalinin's English improves. *He looks deceptively older than he actually is (He appears to be in his mid to late thirties, when he is actually in his mid to late twenties). *Like Vinnie Crosby, he is prone to reckless behavior in combat. *When he is first introduced in the series, Nikolai's heavy accent and broken English is blatantly obvious. However, as the series progresses, his English improves, though his accent still remains. Quotes Personal quotes ''"Sometimes I vish I verrre someone who believed in forrrm of blissful afterrrlife, whether it kalled Heaven orrr just Parrradise. I mean, sure a blissful afterrrlife kould exist and zat zerrre is chance I could end up zere'. But agonizingly I find myself koncluding zat I vill never rrreach zat point, I vill never rrreach Kingdom of Heaven, orrr Elysian Fields, orrr Valhalla, orrr whatever you people kall zat place of eterrrnal bliss. RRRather, I kan say zat I vill end up in Hell, zat agonizing, eterrrnal place of veeping and gnashing of teeth. But I find zat to be luxurrry, not kurrrse. Surrre, it horrrible forrr you as guilty sinner orrr morrral crrriminal, but zink of it zis vay: justice must be serrrved. I underrrstand how I kan be horrrible forrr loving God to declarrre horrrible vorrrds 'Deparrrt frrrom Me, I never knew you,' but...at least justice is done. Another loss on yourrr parrrt, vin forrr God. So I should not frrret over firrres of eterrrnal Hell. I actually zink to save someone frrrom something you yourrrself know zat perrrson deserrrves vould be obstrrruction of justice. So do not veep forrr me as I burrrn in firrres of Hell...I belong zere. To say otherwise vould be obstruction of justice on my part." - Nikolai Kalinin describing his firm belief in justice, despite not believing in a higher power. "Use it all. Starrrt vith hands. Firrrst one, and when zey grrrab it, other. As zey scrrream and dance and turrrn and trrry to flee, shoot firrrst one foot, zen other...Do you see wherrre I'm going vith zis? As zey lie howling and otherrrs abandon zem in fearrr, you still have five rrrounds, do you not?...Both knees, each shoulder. Parrrtikularrrly painful." - Nikolai Kalinin to Reaper operative Kathleen Barrett as he trains the latter on how to brutally torture someone for information. (After Nikolai has blasted an armed serial killer's gun out of his hands...) "Bullseye. I going to enjoy zis! Arrrrghh! (He shoots the killer's right hand, which was holding the gun) Hold out yourrr other hand, mister! (He shoots the killer's left hand) Ah, foot! Arrrrghh (He shoots the killer in the leg)! ''Other foot (Shoots the killer's other leg)! Arrrrghh! Kneekap '(He blasts the killer's left kneecap, which cripples him)''! Arrrrghh! Arrre you enjoying zis as much as I? Oh, I see look on yourrr face, shall I keep going? ''(Shoots the killer in the other kneecap, effectively disabling him) Is zat glee I see on yourrr face? You must rrreally enjoy zis'' (Shoots the killer's left shoulder)! Oh, look, Mister Killer, you arrre laughing vith me (He blasts the killer's right shoulder as he crumples to the ground in pain)! Oh, my young frrriend, it seems as zough yourrr sadistic vays have finally kome back to haunt you. I surrre zat you did not expect any payback in slightest, let alone sadistic forrrm of rrretrrribution. As you see, I have shot you, what, nine times alrrready? Need I go on vith morrre? Also, look at girrrl (He redirects the killer's attention to the damsel in distress he'd strangled until she passed out, who is now staring at the two of them in horror). How did she feel, while you strrrangled her until she passed out? Did you even karrre about her while you almost killed her. Look at her...you almost killed her by strrrangling her until she passed out. If zat vas not enough you sought to kill her by bloving her brrrains out. Yourrr murrrder sprrree is now up in smoke, yourrr murrrder machine is crrrippled. You kannot stop me now...zis is what yourrr grrreed has brrrought you ''(He shoots the serial killer in the throat)." - Nikolai Kalinin as he tortures a serial killer to death for the attempted murder of a young girl. Dialog with others ''"She really is different...I have never seen girls like her before, girls with such boldness to step out and be open about whatever she believes in." "Maybe you should talk to her, try to get her side of the story." "Maybe I will. (Laughs) I definitely will talk to her sometime." - Nikolai Kalinin and Vinnie Crosby conversing about new USTL student and Christian Karen Ogden. "Sir, I must ask why you have asked us to shave our beards, which Allah mandated us to have. We demand an answer for you have shamed us and-!" "WHAT?! Did I hear you correctly?! Tell me, soldier, tell me: you are not going to violate my specific order to never again..." "Sir, I am merely saying as a Muslim-!" "YOU DARE TO INTERRUPT ME?! Do you see yourself above corporal punishme-?!" "No, sir, I-!" "I SHOULD HAVE YOU EXECUTED THIS INSTANT!! I...I...I should do it myself!" "Commander Kalinin, please, as a sincere Muslim and a follower of Allah and his messenger, I must ask why...!" "I gave you specific orders to never again bring your faith into my circle or question the ethics of my orders! I gave you specific orders to never again use your religion to justify questioning my direct orders, because I have made it clear that '''orders are orders, '''regardless of '''what '''religious affiliation anyone is! Whatever I say goes, no one has the authority to challenge that! You, Farid, of all people, should know that!" "Commander, please, I must ask..." "Silence! I have spoken!" - A soldier in Nikolai's cadre of fighters, and Nikolai Kalinin after the latter questions the ethics of Nikolai's order to have the men shave their beards (which runs countercultural to Islam, but Nikolai obviously does not care). "Volodya, come hither." "Yes, Comrade?" "What is that in your hand?" "A rattan rod, sir. I am honored to have the privilege to ride with you into battle." "Ah, yes. Now, Mister Grinko, have you taught your men who I am?" "Da, comrade. I have." "Even ''this ''man?" "Ah, yes. Why?" "It appears one of our men has displayed a blatant act of insubordination against the entire army. Would you do me the honor of showing him what happens to those who question me?" "Of course, Comrade." "Even ''this ''man? ''(To Farid) ''Your name, son." "F-Farid. Farid Abdulaziz..." - Nikolai Kalinin, Volodya Grinko, N. Kalinin and Farid Abdulaziz "Comrade Grinko, it appears our friend Farid Abdulaziz has committed an act of insubordination and must be dealt with accordingly. Would you kindly use your rattan rod to discipline this insubordinate traitor, for the education of all?" "I will do whatever you ask, Comrade." "Please. ''(Volodya Grinko proceeds to beat Farid Abdulaziz with the rattan pole as Nikolai gestures to his men) ''You see, comrades, this is what happens to those who defy me...Let this be a lesson to all of you! ''(To Volodya) ''Comrade Grinko, when he is within an inch of his life, spare him the rod and put him out of his misery." "Of course, comrade." (He beats Farid Abdulaziz within an inch of his life, then pulls out his Makarov PM pistol) - Nikolai Kalinin and Volodya Grinko "Any last words, Farid Abdulaziz?" (Farid, near death, rasps weakly to Nikolai) "May Allah judge you for what you've done...!" "Oh, Farid...When will you ever learn?" (Nikolai nods to Volodya, who executes Farid with the Makarov pistol) - Volodya Grinko, Farid Abdulaziz and Nikolai Kalinin (Nikolai Kalinin sees his men capturing Islamic State militants) "Get them up. I want to have a word with them. ''(To Islamic State militant) ''Catch your breath, soldier." "Commander Kalinin, the town is secure. The data has been retrieved. We are ready for stage two." "''(nods to his ally, then turns to the militant) ''How many did you come with? (When the militant does not reply, Nikolai jabs him with the butt of his rifle) How many did you come with?" - Nikolai Kalinin, a Reaper agent, and Nikolai Kalinin "How many did you come with?" "It's just us..." "What about the Daesh chopper we shot down?" "My men need...medical attention...!" "You care about your men? ''(He pulls out a pistol and kills one of the injured POWs) ''Care clouds judgment. That is why you cannot win. This place ...isn't yours anymore. (He cripples the militant by blasting out both of his knees with a shotgun) Kill them...and spare the bullets." (He watches on as the rest of the injured militants are executed and Ellie Cohen straddles the crippled Islamic State militant) "You ready to dance, pretty boy?" (She beats the crippled militant to death) - Nikolai Kalinin, an injured militant, and Ellie Cohen "People question the value of enhanced interrogation techniques." "No..." "Enhanced interrogation techniques do not work very well, but torture-now that works very well. Attorney client privilege dates back all the way to English common law. This means that you told your comrades-in confidence, of course-a great deal about the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. How much did you tell your superiors?" "We-we didn't talk about that!" "Of course you did." "We talked for ten-ten minutes!" "Ten minutes is a very long time...as you're about to learn." (He beats the man to death) - Nikolai Kalinin, an Islamic State POW, and Nikolai Kalinin before the former beats the latter to death Category:Russians Category:European characters Category:Vigilantes Category:Allies